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Former Rutgers forward Derrick Randall sues over Rice abuse; three other players may soon follow

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An attorney for former Rutgers forward Derrick Randall cited this photo as another example of abuse the player endured at the hands of coach Mike Rice, seen here confronting Randall on the bench during a game between the Scarlet Knights and Seton Hall Pirates at the Prudential Center.
(Chris Szagola/Cal Sport Media/ZUMAPRESS.com)

The photo showed former Rutgers University basketball coach Mike Rice — his hand firmly around the neck and face of Derrick Randall, eyes locked inches away from the vacant gaze of his player on the bench.

It was a photo, said Randall’s lawyer, that "speaks volumes" of the abusive courtside behavior that went on when Rice was head coach.

In a federal lawsuit filed on Friday, the one-time Rutgers forward accused the coach of assault and battery, while charging the university and its athletic staff of negligence, emotional distress and discrimination.

It marked the first lawsuit against Rutgers by any of the Scarlet Knights players coached by Rice since the scandal broke in April.

A spokesman for the university said the university has not been served with the lawsuit and declined comment. However, he said Rutgers has received notices from at least three other players on the team who have said they also intend to sue over Rice’s alleged abuses.

The spokesman declined to name the players and none of them have filed lawsuits.

Rice was fired by university President Robert Barchi on April 3, after videos obtained by former assistant coach Eric Murdock, who has his own lawsuit pending against Rutgers, were leaked to ESPN. Those edited videos showed Rice shouting curses and gay slurs, angrily berating his players and throwing a ball at some during team practices.

The controversy over the videos and the decision to initially keep Rice on the job after the videos first were brought to the attention of university officials ultimately cost the jobs of athletic director Tim Pernetti, the university’s top attorney John Wolf, and assistant basketball coach Jimmy Martelli. University board member Mark Hershhorn was also relieved of his chairmanship of the university’s athletics committee.

The lawsuit by Randall — which named Rice, Pernetti, Martelli, Barchi, Hershhorn and Janine Purcaro, the chief financial officer for the university’s athletic program — said the player was placed "in a hostile environment in which he was regularly and continuously subjected to physical, mental, verbal and emotional abuse of the most outrageous nature."

"I’m not going to comment on the merits of the complaint. It’s detailed and speaks for itself," said Randall’s attorney, Daniel Kokhba of New York. "It is an important, serious lawsuit."

Rice refused to comment on the lawsuit, and Pernetti could not be reached. A request to speak with Purcaro was denied, with athletic department spokesman Jason Baum saying, "We do not comment on pending litigation."

Randall, 23, now a New York resident, played in high school for Paterson Catholic and later at South Kent Prep in Connecticut. He was recruited to Rutgers as a freshman, playing on the men’s varsity basketball team from the fall of 2011 through the spring of 2013.

Randall left the team after Rice resigned.

He told The Star-Ledger in an earlier interview that his decision to leave was not just about Rice’s behavior.

"I wanted to get that stain off of me and I wanted to be able to move forward in my life," he said.

According to the lawsuit, he was diagnosed with learning disabilities and Rutgers agreed to make special accommodations for him. An assistant coach was assigned to each of the players to serve as "life coaches" to assist in coping with academic and personal matters. However, Randall’s special learning and related needs, the lawsuit complained,
were entrusted to the team videographer.

"Coach Rice frequently engaged in mind games with Derrick, such as asking him if he was ready to go into a game and on receiving an affirmative answer, leaving Derrick on the bench without any explanation," the lawsuit stated. "On several occasions, Coach Rice stared directly at Derrick with an unmistakable look of hatred."

It said Rice hurled basketballs at Randall’s head and legs, hitting, grabbing, striking and shoving him.

"Coach Rice verbally, mentally, and emotionally abused Derrick through violent screaming, cursing and other humiliation tactics, including the use of homophobic slurs and other shockingly derogatory and discriminatory name calling," said the lawsuit, which said the incidents caused Randall to lose confidence in himself and affected his play.

"A photograph of Coach Rice grabbing Derrick by the neck and face on the bench during a game, with Derrick looking completely lost and helpless, speaks volumes, as does the video of such abusive behavior," said the lawsuit, which also alleged that the other defendants allowed Rice’s actions toward Randall to occur and "tolerated" it.

It said other assistant coaches told Randall and other players to deal with it.

"Stuff still pops up about, like, Mike Rice stuff," Randall told The Star-Ledger in an interview last month, before knowledge of the lawsuit arose. "I just don’t want that to ever happen to me again because it was the worst time of my life."

Randall now plays for the University of Pittsburgh.

Somerville attorney Brian Cige said such lawsuits are difficult to pursue, although the notoriety of the case and the hours of video of Rice will certainly not help Rutgers.

Cige recently filed a lawsuit on behalf of a student accusing former Somerville High School football coach Greg Arakelian with bullying the athlete and jeopardizing his college recruitment. The case was dismissed before it went to trial.

"Unless you are lucky enough to have a videotape, it’s terribly difficult to pursue these cases, especially if you are dealing with coaches who have a long success," he said.

He added that players who stand up to bullying must be willing to burn bridges — not only with their coaching staff and administration, but their own friends who might not jump to their side.

Cige pointed to the ongoing investigation by the Miami Dolphins into the bullying, harassment, and player misconduct allegations raised by Jonathan Martin, who left the team four weeks ago.

"It used to be they would tell you if you can’t take it then leave. Now they’re saying, ‘If you can’t take it, then do something about it,’â " he said.
Staff writers Kelly Heyboer and Mike Vorkunov contributed to this report.